This man never ceases to amaze me. At 83, he walks into my concert this December 2012 assisted by his son, sits in the first row and through the entire concert. He never leaves before telling what he felt about the concert. On some occasions he has written spontaneous poetry, of a high order, and read it aloud after requesting the organizers.
It is the childlike enthusiasm which one could very easily see in this veteran. Over many coffees , upmas and vadas at the Drive-in Woodlands and then the New Woodlands, over a period of 15 years, we have gone over many wonderful compositions he has created and will sing unmindful of those around. Some of the raagas were invented by him through his fertile imagination. His command of several languages and capacity to compose superior music in those, were sometimes beyond what a simple mind like mine could perceive. I would still sit for hours with him regaling in the experience of a genius senior citizen seeking knowledgeable audience to showcase his compositions which ripened and shone with every passing year. His knowledge of Urdu and Persian and his irresistible Ghazals made my mind fresh with possibilities.
My only regret is that in the last 3 years, I have been unable to accept his invitations for ‘Baitaks’ and also have never been able to sing any of his composition in my concerts.
6 months ago, when I wanted him to be a part of eAmbalam promotional videos, he ignored failing health, an eye surgery from which he was recovering from and spent an wholesome 4 hours with us at the shoot, singing like an innocent child and composing spontaneous poems on me at the shoot.
Dear friend, PBS sir, Taatha…………your Ramu misses you !
TV Ramprasadh
